Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, which is part of a $11.6 million streetscape project. less

Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, ... more

Photo: Evan Sernoffsky

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A whole filled with asphalt is seen in newly installed paving in a plaza at Mission Street and Cesar Chavez Street on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

A whole filled with asphalt is seen in newly installed paving in a plaza at Mission Street and Cesar Chavez Street on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

Photo: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Image 3 of 13

Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, which is part of a $11.6 million streetscape project. less

Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, ... more

Photo: Evan Sernoffsky

Image 4 of 13

A whole filled with asphalt is seen next to an empty space which used to have a bench at a plaza at Mission Street and Cesar Chavez Street on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

A whole filled with asphalt is seen next to an empty space which used to have a bench at a plaza at Mission Street and Cesar Chavez Street on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

Photo: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

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Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, which is part of a $11.6 million streetscape project. less

Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, ... more

Photo: Evan Sernoffsky

Image 7 of 13

A whole filled with asphalt next to an empty space which used to have a bench is seen at a plaza at Mission Street and Cesar Chavez on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

A whole filled with asphalt next to an empty space which used to have a bench is seen at a plaza at Mission Street and Cesar Chavez on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

Photo: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Image 8 of 13

Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, which is part of a $11.6 million streetscape project. less

Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, ... more

Photo: Ben Collins

Image 9 of 13

A bolt sticks out of the ground where a bench used to be at a plaza on Mission Street and Cesar Chavez Street on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

A bolt sticks out of the ground where a bench used to be at a plaza on Mission Street and Cesar Chavez Street on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

Photo: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Image 10 of 13

Image 11 of 13

A whole filled with asphalt is seen next to an empty space which used to have a bench at a plaza at Mission Street and Cesar Chavez Street on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

A whole filled with asphalt is seen next to an empty space which used to have a bench at a plaza at Mission Street and Cesar Chavez Street on Oct. 8 in San Francisco.

Photo: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Image 12 of 13

Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, which is part of a $11.6 million streetscape project. less

Crews from PG&E repaired a hole that was ripped into Cesar Chavez Plaza last month when workers installed a valve in an underground pipeline. The work frustrated community members who take pride in the plaza, ... more

Photo: Evan Sernoffsky

Image 13 of 13

PG&E mends ugly hole, relations with Mission District neighbors

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A Mission District community that was incensed after maintenance crews from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. tore an ugly hole into a new San Francisco street-scape project can breathe easier. The utility has stepped up and completed work to fix the crater.

Frustrations were first reported in an Oct. 9 Chronicle Watch article. Neighbors noticed that a plaza at the corner of Mission and Cesar Chavez streets had been gouged to install a valve in an underground gas line that had been paved over.

The square is decorated with paving stones engraved with “Sí se puede,” the motto of the United Farm Workers, the organization co-founded by labor leader Cesar Chavez.

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Other paving stones at the square are made from special porous concrete designed to drain water in conjunction with the plaza’s eco-friendly biofiltration planters.

The plaza is a central piece of an $11.6 million street-scape plan that was dedicated in 2013, designed to embrace the culture of the neighborhood and make the stretch of Cesar Chavez Street between Highway 101 and Guerrero Street safer for pedestrians.

When PG&E crews installed an access box, they filled the hole with asphalt and made off with a park bench, city officials said. And the spray paint marking the gas lines wasn’t cleaned off.

A spokesman for the utility said that the work was necessary for safety reasons and that the asphalt used to fill the hole was temporary. On Oct. 20, PG&E began restoring the concrete, and on Monday, the project was complete, with the bench back in place.

“We’ve been happy to work closely with the city on this restoration process to make sure the work met their expectations and that of the public,” said utility spokesman Jason King.

King said PG&E had intended to fix the hole quickly and said crews had to take the bench away after unfastening it from the ground so it wouldn’t get stolen.

The blemish prompted the city to take another look at how it issues permits in hopes of avoiding future damage to public projects.